people sometimes suggest that the solution lies in getting book reviewing out of the hands of hacks. Books on specialised subjects ought to be dealt with by experts, and on the other hand a good deal of reviewing, especially of novels, might well be done by amateurs. Nearly every book is capable of arousing passionate [...]
Entries Tagged as 'ICT'
The Richest Cultural Moment in History – “Cultural Amnesia” – Clive James
September 27th, 2011 · No Comments · Art, Civilisation, Criticism, Culture, ICT, Music, Poetry
It would be a desirable and enviable existence just to earn a decent wage at a worthwhile job and spend all one’s leisure hours improving one’s aesthetic appreciation. There is so much to appreciate, and it is all available for peanuts. One can plausibly aspire to seeing, hearing and reading everything that matters. The times [...]
Telecommunications Reform – “The Light on the Hill” – Ross McMullin
September 2nd, 2011 · No Comments · Australian Labor Party, Economics, ICT, Policy, Politics
Keating was less successful in the battle over Telecom’s future, since cabinet decided to support Beazley’s proposal. After intense factional negotiations Beazley and the government carried the day at the special conference, where debate was spirited and at times – especially concerning Telecom – very technical. Grappling with the intricacies of telecommunications was, Beazley remarked, [...]
Tags:ALP·ICT·Labor·policy·telecommunications
“The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom”, Yochai Benkler
August 16th, 2010 · No Comments · Economics, ICT, Policy
Synopsis: By lowering the transaction costs of group action, the Internet has made possible a new model of production – commons based peer production. Not market driven, not government directed and not organisationally controlled, peer production within online communities of interest represents a qualitatively new form of production. Benkler was the first to identify it. [...]
Tags:Yochai Benkler
“Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge”, Cass Sunstein
August 9th, 2010 · No Comments · ICT, Under-Rated
Synopsis: University of Chicago Professor of Jurisprudence and polymath at large, Cass Sunstein reviews traditional models of aggregating and filtering information in the context of the impact of rapidly evolving technological change. If it was published on Twitter, I’d give it a re-tweet. My Take: The best summary of Cass Sunstien’s “Infotopia” comes from a [...]
Tags:Cass Sunstien
New Arrival on the Bookshelf: Amazon Kindle
October 30th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Admin, ICT, Under-Rated
Another post, another excuse for sparsity of posting. Life remains professionally intense (though interesting) and Blogging the Bookshelf has had to take a backseat this month while I’ve focused on the day job. Thankfully while my blogging has suffered, my reading time has held up well (the one saving grace of interstate commuting) and I’ve [...]
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“Foundation”, Isaac Asimov
July 25th, 2009 · No Comments · ICT, Sci-Fi, Under-Rated
Synopsis: First novel (in order of release, not chronology) of the seven volume Foundation series tracing ‘psychohistorian’, Hari Seldon’s efforts to restore civilisation in the wake of the collapse of the Galactic Empire. My Take: I’m not usually a fan of Science Fiction (and I’m NEVER a fan of fantasy. Yes that includes The Lord [...]
Tags:Isacc Asimov
“The Long Tail”, Chris Anderson
July 16th, 2009 · No Comments · ICT, Policy
Synopsis: As search, storage and distribution costs trend towards zero in an increasingly digital world the economics of commerce are changing. While massively selling high-demand ‘hits’ remain important, lower costs have made it economical to trade in an ever increasing ‘Long Tail’ of low (but not zero) demand niche products a la iTunes, Amazon, eBay [...]
Tags:Chris Anderson
"Super Crunchers: How Anything Can Be Predicted", Ian Ayres
July 6th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Economics, ICT, Policy
Synopsis: Technological advances that dramatically reduce the costs of collecting and storing data combined with vast increases in computer processing power has made data driven decision making both more powerful and more feasible. My Take: Ian Ayres is a great advocate. Perhaps the reason for this is that he divides his time and expertise between [...]
Tags:Ian Ayres
"Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes", Mark Penn
June 26th, 2009 · No Comments · ICT, Over-Rated, Politics
Synopsis: In/famous Clinton pollster, Burson-Marsteller CEO and Bowser look alike claims that small-scale, niche trends, identifiable through statistical analysis, are the key drivers for societal change. A long bow, stretched WAY too far for its own good. My Take: Love him or hate him (and let’s face it, most people hate him these days), Mark [...]
Tags:Mark Penn
